Chapter 35: Renowned for Speed?

As the bell signaling the start of the match rang out, the terror on Alyssa's face reached its peak.

I'm going to die...

Her legs trembled uncontrollably, barely able to support her frail frame. Just then, someone tapped her on the shoulder. Alyssa turned to see the handsome face of the "Monkey-man."

"If you don't want to die, find a place to hide. Once the fighting starts, I might not be able to look after you."

"Find... a place to hide myself?"

Alyssa stared with wide eyes as Lu Li walked forward without looking back. Was this Monkey-man planning to take on two opponents at once?

Just as Alyssa stood dazed, the iron gate of the opposite tunnel suddenly groaned open. Two hulking figures, their bodies covered in brown rock, strode out.

"Oh no! We're up against Stone-skins right from the start..."

Alyssa’s heart tightened. She was all too familiar with the traits of the Stone-skins. As one of the many races that enslaved the Palu people, the Stone-skins were among the most numerous. Generally lacking in intelligence, they possessed astonishing physical strength. Both their power and constitution far exceeded those of the Palu. The brown rocky shell covering their bodies acted as natural armor, providing them with formidable defense. A single Stone-skin could easily handle dozens of Palu with their bare hands. How could a Monkey-man like Lu Li possibly win against two?

"Grumble! Grumble!"

The Stone-skins quickly spotted Lu Li in the arena. Their ugly mouths split open, emitting strange, guttural roars. Their bulky bodies leaned forward, and they charged like runaway locomotives.

Alyssa gasped, covering her eyes in fear. Yet, the expected scream of agony never came. Instead, two dull thuds echoed as heavy objects hit the ground.

Alyssa slowly opened her eyes and, peeking through her fingers, saw the corpses lying not far away. It was the Stone-skins! They had been killed! How was that possible?

The arena fell into a deathly silence, followed half a second later by an eruption of thunderous cheers from the stands.

"No way, did I see that right? That little scrawny guy took down two Stone-skins in one go?"

"Hey, did you see his movements? That was so fast..."

"Looks like this newcomer, Lu Li, specializes in speed..."

"Wait, his weapon seems to have morphed directly from his right hand. I thought it was a prop at first."

"Is his talent shapeshifting? That blade from his right hand looks incredibly sharp..."

"I think this kid has some real skill. He might actually pull off a hundred-win streak!"

"Pfft, it’s just started. Maybe he just got lucky and happened to strike the Stone-skins' weak spots."

"True, look at the wounds on the Stone-skins—all in the areas not protected by rock..."

Feeling the waves of sound rising from the crowd, Lu Li remained expressionless. With a light flick, he shook the blood from his blade and silently activated his Soul Devouring ability on the two corpses.

[Consumed Soul of Lv.6 Stone-skin x2, Soul Points +30]
[Plundered Ability—Mountain Shaker (Gold) x2]
[Ability 'Mountain Shaker' detected as eligible for advancement. Trigger advancement quest? Yes/No.]
[Ability 'Mountain Shaker' and 'Great Strength' are both 'Strength' type abilities. Perform enhanced fusion?]

Lu Li raised an eyebrow. He bypassed the fusion and chose to trigger the advancement quest instead. With 99 matches left to go, he might just complete it along the way.

[Ding! Ability advancement quest triggered!]
[Quest: Complete 20 kills using only 'Strength' type abilities!]
[Reward: Challenger Chest x5, Ability 'Mountain Shaker' advanced to Platinum grade!]
[Kill count: 0/20.]

High above the arena, in a luxuriously decorated box, a woman dressed in extravagant finery reclined lazily on a sofa, watching Lu Li in the center of the arena with keen interest. A moment later, she plucked a berry from a fruit platter and spoke slowly:

"What do you think? How many matches will this newcomer win?"

"My Lady, I believe he won't last five matches! No, make that three!"

A fair-skinned, delicate-looking young man stepped out from behind the sofa and knelt respectfully on the floor. He was mostly naked, with only a simple cloth covering his private parts.

"Give me your reasons."

The woman held the berry out to the young man. He immediately took it, popping it into his own mouth before feeding it to the woman mouth-to-mouth.

"Well, judging by his opening kill, he seems to be a melee fighter who excels in speed."

"The Stone-skins, however, are known for their strength and constitution, and they lack speed above all else."

"That boy won simply by using his strength to exploit their weakness. It was pure luck."

The woman listened to his analysis with a perfunctory grunt, seemingly unimpressed. Soon, another blonde man, similarly scantily clad, knelt on the floor and said respectfully:

"My Lady, I believe this newcomer might manage a ten-win streak!"

"Oh? And your reasons?"

The woman picked up another berry and held it out. The blonde man took it directly with his mouth, taking the chance to flick his tongue against her fingertips. This small gesture clearly pleased the woman, making her giggle. The man crawled forward to feed her the berry, lingering to suck on her lips.

"My Lady, if he only relied on speed, he couldn't have taken down two Stone-skins in such a short time!"

"The Stone-skins may lack speed, but their defense is well above average!"

"For that newcomer to kill them in one hit, his strength is not to be underestimated!"

As the blonde man finished, a voice of disdain drifted from the shadows behind the woman:

"Pfft, if his strength is so extraordinary, why do you only think he can win ten matches? Why not twenty, or even a hundred?"

The moment these words were spoken, the woman stopped chewing. The lively atmosphere in the box plummeted to freezing.

Something shifted under the woman's dress, and several tentacles shot out, darting toward the back of the room. A moment later, a dark-skinned, muscular man was dragged before her by the tentacles.

The woman parted her lips, revealing rows of fine, sharp teeth.

"Little Wei, I’ve told you so many times, if you want to be my pet, you must have manners!"

"Little Erfu hadn't even finished speaking, so why did you have to interrupt him?"

The dark-skinned man’s eyes widened in terror as he struggled to speak, but a slimy tentacle had already clamped over his mouth.

"Sigh, for the sake of fairness, I have no choice but to interrupt you as well..."

As she spoke, the tentacles binding the man tightened violently! One second he was a robust, muscular man; the next, he was reduced to two piles of bloody pulp.